SPECIAL REPORT |
El Arrayán - Mexico culinary and cultural experience!
By Jesús de Avila - The Editor - May 2006.
|
 The Arrayan is a local tree of the region of Jalisco producing aromatic flowers with four petals and a small very delicious sweet-and-sour fruit which can be eaten when it is still green or ripe. When Carmen Porras was pondering on the name she would give to her restaurant, memories from her childhood crossed her mind: f.e. when she used to buy and enjoy candies made from arrayan together with her mother and her brothers and sisters. She also remembered the arrayan tree in the patio of her great-grandparent’s house where her mother used to play. This brief look into the past connected Carmen with her roots and immediately she knew that the name of her restaurant would be El Arrayan in memory of her family and in honor of her origins.
With a capacity for sixty people El Arrayan is more than a Mexican restaurant. It is a space with its own identity which has achieved ―through its cuisine, its service and its ambience― to create a concept that connects the visitor to a part of everyday’s life and culture in a Mexican town.
History:
The history of the El Arrayan began with the gastronomical adventure that Carmen Porras [its owner] initiated in a restaurant in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo when she was very young. While working there temporarily she discovered that activity that she would undertake thenceforward. Carmen arrived at Puerto Vallarta collaborating for the Four Seasons Hotel  in the food and beverage department. Subsequently she decided to join the team of the Trio restaurant. It was there while listening to what some clients wished to find and to enjoy in the port, that she made the decision that her next step would be to open a restaurant. From the beginning she had a very clear idea regarding the type of food she would offer in her place: traditional Mexican food. Therefore she planned to set out and rescue authentic recipes from various regions of Mexico.
After some years of investigation and thorough planning, El Arrayan opened its doors in November of 2003. What has happened since then has been an exciting journey through the traditional culinary universe of Mexico. The anecdotes that clients can experience when visiting El Arrayan for the first time are outstanding.
After almost three years after its opening, El Arrayan is known as the only restaurant in Puerto Vallarta that offers meals prepared according to the original process of authentic recipes that come from traditional Mexican families, and that in some cases continue to still be prepared and enjoyed in their homes.
The Menu:
Independent of the fact the one of the characteristics is that all meals are authentic recipes of dishes originating in various areas of Mexico, one may mention that only the freshest traditional ingredients ―and if possible organic and local  produce― are used for cooking following original processes that result in a variety of flavors that usually can only be enjoyed in the intimate and sharing atmosphere of a family dining room. In more than one occasion respecting the cooking process also requires the usage of traditional tools such as a molcajete which is used for mixing the ingredients step by step to prepare delicious salsas, or a metate which step by step gives life to the extremely delicious and worldwide known "mole" among other things.
Marjoram, onion, orange, ‘pasilla’ peppers, ‘tomatillo’, peanuts, all-spice, sea salt, pumkin, puemkin seed , avocado, beans, ‘ancho’ peppers, ‘habanero’ peppers, plantain, ‘axiote’, pecans, almonds, garlic, ‘cilantro’, parsley, red radish, chocolate, letuce, mango, cucumber, lime, potatoes, ‘epazote’ and of course arrayan as well are some of the elements and ingredients used by El Arrayan restaurant to create a one-of-a-kind rainbow of flavors and gastronomical colors unique in this world.
The menu consists of Soups and Salads, Sidewalk Appetizers [street food of different regions], Ceviches, Main Dishes and Specialties. The creation of the desserts is also based on traditional recipes and it is recommendable to ask for the dessert of the day.
Some examples of the menu to wet your appetite:
Shrimp pozole
Hearty soup with shrimp & tomato stock,
Whole hominy corn and fresh shrimp. Large ……… $80.00 Pesos
Nopal cactus pad salad
Whit panela cheese, fresh marjoram
Vinaigrette and onions …………………………………………… $60.00 Pesos
Plantai Empanadas
Plantai dough filled with black beans
& cheese, the original recipe in Puerto Vallarta … $60.00 Pesos
Ceviche Colima
With fresh baby scallops & avocado
cilantro, onion …………………………………………………………… $90.00 Pesos
Fish filet
Boneless fish filet, grilled, with ´Axiote’ [ashioh-teh]
sauce: delicate sweet & sour mixed
spices from Yucatán ……………………………………………… $150.00 Pesos
Duck ‘carnitas’
Chef Juan’s own famous crispy and
jucy duck confit, Mexican fashion,
arrayán-orange sauce …………………………………………… $195.00 Pesos
Chiquis’ chicken breast
Dries pasilla pepers and tomatillo sauce
and onion … auntie’s own secret ………………………… $130.00 Pesos |
"Some clients arrive at the
restaurant with an
inaccurate idea about
Mexican food. Reading
our menu gives rise
to questions which
represents an opportunity
for us to share with them
what constitutes the real
traditional food in our
country. Beyond
providing the service
of a restaurant, our
work is also to educate". |
Our pre-Hispanic origin is also represented by a delicious and delicate dish where "grass-hoppers" from Oaxaca are the main ingredient. And of course let’s not forget that the culinary experience would not be complete without savoring freshly made corn tortillas, which since the days of our ancestors they have been considered a source of life, strength and unity in the Mexican family.
The Restaurant:
 Resembling the patio of one ancient rural home, dressed up with those colors that most of all represent joy for the people of our country, the restaurant offers a fresh and ample dining room protected by red clay tiles. The tables are covered by colorful table cloths and are distributed in such form that even though they still provide privacy, they succeed in generating an atmosphere where all clients form part of a companionship. This results in the sensation of being in a Mexican home, either a typical rural one or one in a mountain village.
The soul of El Arrayan is its kitchen. It is the source of all the aromas that can be perceived in the interior as well as in the exterior of the restaurant. One very special characteristic feature is that the kitchen is visible to everybody and whatever happens there is always under the supervision of Chef Juan Manuel Cruz. According to Carmen he is the one who has contributed in a more than a relevant way to the fact that El Arrayan is considered today as the best traditional Mexican restaurant of the destination thanks to its cuisine.
Of course the restaurant also has a bar offering an infinite range of international drinks emphasizing of course on those drinks that are made with our own typical spirits such as tequila and raicilla, as well as on an exquisite variety of table wines also of national origin. It is necessary to mention that Claudia Victoria is an important member of the El Arrayan team and amongst other functions she is responsible for the unique and outstanding cocktails served here such as: arrayan margarita, tequila bum bum, agave blue and coconut margarita.
The walls of the restaurant are the perfect space to exhibit permanently works of our art, especially highlighting those made by local and Huichol artists.
Within a casual atmosphere and a friendly hospitality, everything in the restaurant contributes to generate the ambience of a village full of flavor, sound, aroma and color intriguingly embracing and intoxicating its visitors. Due to its location and its characteristics the restaurant is particularly popular for celebrating group dinners as well as special events and food and wine tastings.
There is no other place in Puerto Vallarta like El Arrayan that succeeds so well in transmitting the essence of a Mexican village.
El Arrayán – Traditional Cuisine
344 Allende Downtown • Puerto Vallarta, Jal.
Open for dinner Wednesday to Monday from 6.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. [closed on Tuesdays]
Live music on Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m.
Reservations: (322) 222-7195
Website: http://www.elarrayan.com.mx
E-mail: info@elarrayan.com.mx
Jesús de Avila - Publisher & Editor
E-mail: editor@pvmirror.com
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